When All Else Falls, I'll Still Be Here
by rpgplayer658
Summary: Takes place after "A Little Kindness Goes A Long Way." After Colin took in Butters, he decides to put his next focus on Kenny, whose file seems incomplete. When Edward, Nick's brother, moves to town, he finds that Kenny had a secret that no one knows about, or no one remembers. Warning: Will contain some dark materials. Part 2 of 5 of my stories.
1. A Poor Kid's Life

In South Park, Colorado, there is a boy who can't die. No matter how many times he is shot, beheaded, electrocuted, or even if he commits suicide, he always wakes up in his bed the next morning. While he has gotten used to it, and he hasn't been killed in a while, the worst part to him isn't the fact that he can't die, it's the fact that no one remembers him dying.

Kenny Mccormick woke up from his sleep, his face having the usual dirt. He put on the shirt that his friend, Nicholas, loaned him, and put on his signature orange parka, and headed to the kitchen. Surprisingly, his Mom and Dad weren't fighting this time, in fact, his Dad, Stuart, was just watching TV drinking a can of beer. "G'morning, son.." He said, with a bland tone.

"Good morning, Dad…" Kenny responded. He headed towards the kitchen where his Mom, Carol, his sister, Karen, and his brother, Kevin, were eating there usual bowls of cereal and frozen waffles.

"Mornin' Mom." Kenny said, in a monotone voice.

"Good morning, Ken…" Carol said, taking a puff of her cigarette.

"Good morning, Kenny!" Karen said, excitedly.

Kenny smiled at Karen, he loved his little sister to death, he would do anything to make her happy. As a result, even when Kenny was feeling sad, he would always smile in front of her in order to make her happy.

Kevin just sat there in silence eating his breakfast. Kevin didn't really talk to his family much, it's not that he didn't love them, it's just that the only times he speaks is when an argument occurs, and thus he tends to choose to be silent so no one gets hurt. Karen made the mood a little lighter, by talking to Kenny about playing with her dolls. And Kenny just sat there a listened to her talk on and on, until it was about time for him to get to school.

"Alright, I'm off…" Kenny said, but then he remembered something that Colin, Nick's father had asked him to do. "Oh, by the way, Colin Finn, asked me to let you both know in advance that he wants to talk to you when October rolls around." The first day of October was next Monday, so they still had a little time to prepare.

"Colin Finn, is he the guy who got Stephen arrested for abuse?" Stuart asked.

"Yeah, Dad…" Kenny answered.

"He's not going to try and take you and my kids away from me is he?" Carol asked, worried about he children

"No…" Kenny lied. "He just wanted to talk to you guys…"

"Well, as long as he isn't a stuck-up prick, I guess it's fine." Stuart stated.

"Hey, you've been hanging out with that his son, Nick, right?" Kevin asked, surprising everyone.

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason, I was just curious." Kevin grabbed his bag and headed out the door. "I'm going to school."

"Be safe, Kevin…" Carol said.

"Don't worry, Ma, I will…" Kevin gave a meek smile, and he walked out the door. Carol noticed that Kenny's phone was on the counter, and she grabbed it and hurried back to Kenny.

"Kenny, you almost forgot your phone." Carol said, giving it to Kenny.

"Whoops." Kenny said, not wanting his Mom to know that he intended on leaving his phone at home. "Thanks, Mom, make sure that Karen gets to school safe…"

"Ah, come on, you know I'm always careful." Kenny knew that wasn't true, but decided not call her out on it.

"Dad…" Kenny looked at Stuart with disapproving eyes.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Try not to drink to much…" Kenny stated.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Stuart asked, angrily.

"It means what it sounds like, you idiot!" Carol answered.

"What did you just call me?!" Stuart was not in the mood to be called an idiot.

"I called you an idiot because that is what you are!"  
"You bitch!" Stuart got up to his wifes face, while Carol stood her ground. "You're just as bad of drinker as I am, so don't go calling me out!"

"At least I have better control over it than you do!" Carol stated. Karen looked off in the kitchen, visibly afraid of the fight that was going on.

"Karen, go wait in the car." Stuart ordered.

Karen did so and ran towards Carol's old beat up car. Stuart then continued to yell at Carol, while she continued to fight back. As this was happening, Kenny had already left the house. "Sweet Jesus, will there ever be a day where those two don't fight and immediatley start making out." Kenny joked to himself. He knew that their fights weren't normal, but he also knew that his parents do love each other in their own way, and while he at least comends his Mom for trying, he wished his Dad would actually try and keep a job. As he continued walking, he sighed to himself, wishing that his sister could've been born into a better family that the one she got. _"She deserves better, but I know that Mom would never want to get rid of her, or even Kevin and me, she loves us way to much."_

After about five minutes of walking he made it to the bus stop where he saw his friends waiting for the bus. Nick was the first one who noticed. "Oh hey, Kenny." Nick said, smiling. Butters was right next to him, he was smiling as well. "Hey, Kenny!" Butters said, cheerfully.

"Hey, guys." Kenny said, smiling back.

"How was your morning?" Kyle asked.

"Eh, the usual." Kenny said, nonchalantly.

"So, your parents started fighting again?" Stan asked.

"Uh, Stan, don't you think thats a bit too forward?" Butters asked, worried about Kenny.

"It's fine, Butters, at this point I'm used to it." Kenny admitted, still smiling.

"Did you tell them that my Dad was going to go see them sometime this week?" Nick asked.  
"Yeah, but they're probably going to scare him off with their fighting." Kenny answered, honestly.

"Have you forgotten who my Dad is?" Nick asked, sarcastically.

"No, but my parents are kinda crazy." Kenny stated. "Don't get me wrong, I love them, but dear god can their fighting get obnoxious."

"Eh, I'm sure it won't be that bad." Nick stated.

"If you say so…" Kenny stated, fully knowing that Colin could easily break his parents down.

Once the bus arrived, everyone boarded the bus and headed off to school.

School went on as normal, and the boys just sat there eating lunch. Kenny didn't really have the oppurtunity to get a full meal, so he usually takes what he can get at school, however, he really missed Chef's cooking, to him, his meals were always delicious, and Chef would even sneak him some extra food without the boys even noticing. Well, except for Cartman, would always try to steal his food, and use every oppurtunity to remind him that he was poor. It really annoyed him, but he always made sure that it wouldn't get to him. Thankfully, ever since what happened to Butters, Cartman hasn't been sitting with them, and now, no really makes fun of the fact that he is poor. Something he is really grateful for.

Nick took a look at Kenny, and noticed that he was eating his food really quickly. "Dude, you ought to slow down…" Nick stated.

"Yeah, Kenny." Butters agreed. "It's not a race."

Kenny flustered, slowed down and swallowed his food. "Sorry, my family can't really afford meals, and we don't have a lot of cooking equipment that works."

"Is any of your family technically proficient?" Nick asked, knowing they couldn't afford to hire someone to fix their stuff.

"I wished." Kenny responded. "We get by with what we got, but it isn't easy."

Nick felt bad for Kenny's situation, and decided to do something for him. "Hey Butters, we should invite Kenny over for dinner tonight."

Butters could see what Nick was trying to do, and he smiled, agreeing with him. "Yeah, Nick always cooks too much, and we always have plenty of leftovers."

Kenny softly smiled at them. "Guys, I'm grateful that you would think of me, but it's really not fair that I get to eat, and my family starves."

"Well, Nick could just make the food and then give it to to take home." Kyle stated.

"That's a great idea, Kyle." Nick said, smiling. "Alright, after school I want you to come to my house, I will cook a meal, and you can bring it to your parents."

Kenny knew that Nick wasn't going to take no for an answer. So he just nodded and finished his lunch. He then got up to put his tray away, and at that moment, Nick decided to ask about Kenny. "Alright, guys, I have a few questions about Kenny, can you answer them?"

"We can try…" Stan answered.

"Alright, you see, last night, I read Kenny's file thinking I should learn more about his past because he has been pretty tight-lipped about it." Nick explained.

"Yeah, and?" Kyle asked.

"There was lot of missing information, there were a lot of time alloted spots in there that usually last about a few hours. It started slowing down the closer I got to present day, and even gets to the point where it just seems like a normal file, but…"  
"But what?" Stan asked.

"There was a whole year where Kenny wasn't in town… it mentions him getting muscular dystrophy, do you guys know about that?"

"Yeah, it's not a day we like to remember…" Kyle admitted. "That was probably one of our hardest days, especially for Stan…"

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.  
"When I heard Kenny was sick, and that he might die, I was devestated, I couldn't even see him in the hospital without bursting into tears."

"Cartman was at his worst at that time, he made me believe that he was grieving him, and that he was trying to save him, only for him to take that trust and stomp it on the ground…" Kyle admitted.

"What did he do?"

"He made us believe the he was supporting a form stem cell reseach that could possibly save his life, only to use that science to clone a pizza joint."

Nick looked at Kyle with shock. "How the fuck did you guys put up with him for so long?!" Nick asked.

"We have no idea…" Kyle answered. "Anyway, I was there with him through it all…"

"What about you, Butters?" Nick asked.

"I drew him a picture and had them deliver it." Butters answered. "My parents wouldn't let me visit him." He looked down clealry feeling guilty.

"Stan, can tell me more about your experience?" Nick asked, with relunctance.

"Well, it was hard…" Stan admitted. "Seeing him like that, I just couldn't handle it, but my friend, Chef, gave me some advice on how death takes everyone, and ran back to visit him…" Stan began to tear up. "Only to find hid bed empty…"

"It's all a blank after that." Kyle stated. "Kenny showed up a year later, telling us that he was off somewhere."

"Where?"

"Apparently, he got transferred to a different hospital where he could be cured." Stan answered, wiping his tears away.

"That's what it said in the file…" Nick looked at Stan with sympathetic eyes. He then saw that Kenny was coming back, and he quickly passed over a napkin to Stan so that he could dry his face. "Don't let him know what I'm doing okay."

"We won't." Kyle said.

"Hey, guys, what have you been doing?" Kenny asked, smiling.

"Nothing much…" Nick answered.

After that, school went on as normal. Nothing of note really happened.

After school got out, Kenny walked back with Nick and Butters to their house so he could get them food for his family. Kenny found this act of generosity to be too generous, but he knew that Nick wouldn't accept no as an answer, so he just didn't say anything. When they got home, they noticed that Colin was on the phone.

"Hey Dad, who're you talking too?" Nick asked.

Colin didn't even hear them open the door, instead he was so focused on listening to the other person's voice. "Eddie?" Colin asked, to the person on the phone. This got a reaction out of Nick. "Wait, Eddie?! As in my brother, Eddie?!"

Colin had finally realized that his son got home. "Who was that on the other end?" Eddie asked, not clearly hearing the person on the other side.

"It was your brother, Nick." Colin answered. "He just got home from school with some friends."

"Oh, is he making new friends already?" Eddie asked, jokingly.

"Put him on speaker, Dad." Nick ordered. "I want to talk to him."

He had forgotten that Butters and Kenny were in the room. Butters was about to say something, but Kenny put his hand on his shoulder, and whispered. "They haven't spoken in years, let's go wait in the kitchen."

Butters nodded, and he followed Kenny to the kitched.

"Don't worry, guys, I'll just be talking to my brother for a little bit." Nick said to his friends.

Colin put the phone on speaker, and made sure that he could hear him clearly. "Ok, you're on speaker."

"Hey, Nick, it's been a long time." Eddie stated. "How's it going?"

"It's going great, Eddie, I've really missed you…" Nick responded.

"You know, I almost didn't answer the phone." Colin admitted.

"Yeah, I can't blame you, considering I'm using my other phone."

"You have two phones now?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, one is for work, and the other is the one I've had for a while now." Eddie answered.

"Aw, so you're using your military phone?" Colin asked.

"You've got it…"  
"Won't you get in trouble?" Nick asked.

"Nah, my tour is over for right now." Eddie stated. "Besides, it's not like I'm going to be revealing trade secrets to Dad and my little brother."

"I don't know, you've always had a hard time keeping your trap shut." Colin joked. They heard Eddie laugh in the speaker.

"Hey, I've you heard got married." Nick stated, happily.

"Yup, I met her in the force."  
'But women can't join the Navy Seals." Colin stated.  
"I know, I didn't say I met her in training…" Eddie stated.  
"Where did you meet?" Nick asked.  
"In an Army tent in Iraq." Eddie casually answered. "It was my first tour, and she was assigned to help soldiers get to the medical bay."

"Was she in combat?" Nick asked.  
"No, but she keeps herself ready." Eddie admitted.

"What's her name?"

"Her name is Rose, and she is just beautiful as one."  
"Good God, those corny lines do not work coming out of you." Nick stated, laughing.

"If you don't stop laughing, I'll keep saying those lines." Eddie joked.  
They all had a good laugh, but Colin's expression turned serious, he had been wanting to ask this question for a while now.

"Edward, I'm glad that you're doing well, but I just want to know…" Nick looked at his father in silence. "Why did you call?"

There was about a minute of silence before Eddie decided to answer. "Because I'm to come home now…"

"Eddie…"

"I'm sorry, Dad, I shouldn't have left the way I did…"

"I'm sorry too, son, I shouldn't have berated you for your decisions." Colin responded. "It couldn't have been easy."

"No, it wasn't…" Eddie responded back. "It was the hardest desicions in my life."

"Edward, where are you right now?" Nick asked.

"I'm in Denver in front of your old house, a neighbor informed me you guys moved there a month ago. I was just planning on visiting Angel, and then going back to the hotel."

The room fell silent. Eddie had no clue what had happened to Nick in the last three years.

"Guys, are you there?"

"We're here, Eddie…" Nick answered.

"Did something happened to Angel?" Edward asked.

"Edward, do you have your old phone on you?" Colin asked.

"It's in my car at the moment…"

"I'll text you a few files." Colin grabbed his cell phone, and sent Edward an adress.

"Alright," Eddie went back to his car, and turned on the vehicle. "Hey Dad, are there any houses for sale at the moment?"

"Yeah, the one next door just became vacant." Colin answered.

"Alright, I gotta go…" Eddie said. "I got the files you sent me, I'll take a look at them later."

"Alright, it was good talking to you again." Colin said. "I hope to see you soon."

"Me too…" Eddie said, without them knowing that he just bought the house in South Park. "Nick, stay out of trouble, alright."

"No promises…" Nick responded.

"Love you both, bye." And with that Edward hanged up the phone, and he looked through the files that his Dad sent him, he didn't know what to expect, but he'd thought that years on the battlefield would prepare for anything, but he wasn't prepared for he was about to read.

"I can't believe he actually called." Nick stated.

"Neither can I, but I'm glad that he wants to bury the hatchet." Colin stated.

They then hear a loud clearing of the throat, and Nick remembered that he was going to cook a meal for Kenny's family. "Oh shit, I need to cook!"

"Huh?" Nick just left the living room leaving Colin confused.

"Sorry, to keep you waiting Kenny." Nick said, as he got out his Mom's cookbook. "How about I cook your family a pie?"

"That's fine…" Kenny answered. "So, how was it?"

"Talking to my brother?" Nick asked. "To be honest, it was kind of jarring, I haven't heard from him in three years, and for him to just call out of the blue like that. To be honest, it's kind of amazing."

"You must really love your brother…" Butters said.

"Of course I do, he's my family, and he'd do anything for me if I was in trouble." Nick stated.  
"I don't if my brother would do the same, but I would for Karen." Kenny stated.

"Yeah, you don't really talk about your brother that much." Nick noted.

"That is mostly because he keeps to himself, but he's not bad guy, just kinda there." Kenny stated.

"Hey Nick…" Butter began to say. "Who is Angel?"

Nick's expression changed as he put the pie in the oven. He now looked sad, even though the expresion itself was blank. "It was a nickname that Eddie gave to my friend."

"Oh, I see…" Butters responded.

"You still haven't told us what happened to him." Kenny stated.  
"I'd rather not talk about it, Kenny…" Nick stated.  
"I understand, whatever happened must've been rough."

"You have no idea…" Nick said to himself as he continued cooking. "I see you're wearing the shirt I loaned you."

"Oh, you noticed?" Kenny asked.

"It was my shirt."

"I didn't think you cared that much…" Kenny responded. "Do you want it back?"

"Nah, I told you that you can keep it, didn't I?"

"Oh, yeah, you did."

"Kenny, if you need more clothes, we should still have some old clothes that my brother used to wear…"

"Dude, you don't need to do that…" Kenny stated, really not wanting the pity.

"Sorry, it must annoy you to see me give you pity." Nick stated. "I'll stop now, if you want."

"Look, I don't need it, but I still appreciate what you do for me." Kenny admitted. "It's honestly more than what I'm used to. Yeah, Stan and Kyle will invite me for dinner on our sleepovers, but they never gave me extra leftovers or clothes that they don't wear anymore."

"I guess I went a step beyond then." Nick stated.

"Hey, I know they're not perfect, but they're my friends, and I love them…" Kenny said, truthfully. "Don't you two ever tell them I said that."

"Dude, you needn't tell me that." Nick stated.

"Yeah, we already know…" Butters stated.

"Shit."

"Eh, don't worry, Kenny, we won't tell them…" Butters said, smiling.

At that moment, the oven went off. Nick took the pie out, and he wrapped it in foil. "Here you go, Kenny."

Kenny took the pie, and he smiled at Nick. "Thanks man, my family should be good for the next few days now."

"That's good…" Nick said. "You better hurry home before it gets cold."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." Kenny ran out the door, and headed back home, glad this his family could eat tonight.

Colin looked out the window and watched Kenny until he was out of sight. "You know, Nick, I'm glad that you're friends with Kenny."

"Oh, come on, you make it sound like a big deal." Nick stated.  
"Well, it kinda is…" Butters stated. "Most people wouldn't be friends with a poor kid."  
"Well, Butters, those are called assholes." Nick stated.

"Or Eric Cartman."

"Him too…" Nick said, quickly. "In all seriousness, after how you grew up, Dad, how could I not be his friend?"

"What do you mean by that, Nick?" Butters asked.  
"I didn't grow up in the best of families, Butters." Colin responded. "In fact, my family was actually poorer than Kenny's."

"Seriously?!" Butters asked, shocked.

"Yeah, my Dad had to fight his way out in order to get where he is now, it wasn't easy…" Nick stated.

"I didn't have an adult figure to turn to other than my teachers, and they managed to convince me that I could make more of my life than my parents. And that is partly why I became a therapist, so I could be voice to guide kids when they don't have anyone to turn to."

"If you hadn't noticed yet, Butters…" Nick said, with Butters now looking at him. "There is not single picture of my grandparents in this house.

When Kenny arrived home, he saw his Mom and Dad watching TV on the couch. "Hey guys, I'm home."  
"You're home later than usual." Stuart stated.

"My friend wanted me to cook for us…" Kenny stated.

"Oh, is that whats in your hands?" Carol asked.

"Yeah," Kenny answered. "I'll go put it in the kitchen, and slice some pieces for you."

"Kenny." Stuart said, stopping Kenny in his tracks. He thought he was going to say something pestismistic. "Who was the freind that cooked it?"

"It was Nicholas Finn, Colin's son." Kenny answered.

"Well…" Stuart said. "Be sure to tell him thanks for me."

Kenny looked at his father in surprised, he was usually a lot more of a negative Nancy. Kenny put down the pie in the kitchen, and he cut a slice for his Mom and Dad.

"Thanks, Kenny…" Carol said, smiling.

"You two see to be getting along." Kenny noted.

"Well, we agreed that since that Colin guy was coming over, we should try to stay sober for right now." Stuart stated.

"We don't him to take you three away…" Carol admitted.

"I see…" Kenny wouldn't tell them, but at that moment, he was glad to see that his parents still cared about them. "I'll go give some pie to Karen and Kevin."  
Kenny sliced two more pieces and he headed towards Kevin and Karen's room. "Hey, you two." Kenny said, smiling.

"Hi, Kenny!" Karen said, excitedly.

Kevin just sat there silently, watching Karen play.

"I brought you both some pie that Nick made."

"Whose Nick?" Karen asked.

"He's a freind that moved here a month ago." Kenny answered. "Do you know how long a month is?"

"30 to 31 days, unless it's February, then it's 28 days." Karen answered.  
"That's good, Karen," Kenny said, giving her slice of pie. She took a bite out of it, and her face brigtened up the moment in entered her mouth.

"It's really good!" Karen said, smiling.

"I'm glad you like it, but don't eat to fast. I don't want you to choke." Kenny said, smiling. He then grabbed the other slice and gave it to Kevin. "I also got you a slice, bro."

Kevin said nothing as he grabbed the plate, and he started eating. Kenny frowned as he began to exit their room. "Thanks, Kenny…" Kevin said, before he could leave. "It's good…" Kenny smiled, as he went to grab his own slice. There was still steam coming from the pie, it raised a warmth that Kenny had never felt before. He grabbed a slice, and he took it to his room, and as he took a bite, tears began to well in his eyes. Not tears of sadness, tears of joy. He was happy to have a friend that really cared about him as much as he did. He would do anything for his friends, even die. In fact he has died for them in past, and they never remember a single one of his deaths. They always remember something else entirely, and it hurt him deeply, not that he would ever show it. He knows his friends care about him, he has seen how they reacted during certain deaths, and a part of him is glad they don't remember, but another part wishes that they did. He thought he was the only immortal, but little did he know was there was another. He was immortal as well, but his worked more like a healing factor, whereas Kenny's was completely different. Another difference was that Kenny's got his from Chthulu. This man has no clue where he got it from, and he doesn't care, as he knows one thing that Kenny doesn't.

No one can truly live forever…


	2. I'm Not Saying A Word

A few days have passed, and it was now Friday. The school day had been going on as normal, and nothing of particular note happened until lunch, where Nick went up to Heidi's table to ask her a question.

"Hey, Heidi." Nick said, smiling. He knew that the girls in this school were going to start rumors, but he really didn't care.

"Hey, Nick." Heidi replied.  
"Are we still on for today?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I just need to let my parents know that I won't be coming home after school." Heidi stated.

"Alright, I'll wait for you by the front doors." Nick said, smiling.

"Alright, I'll see you then." And Nick went back to his table, hearing the murmurs of the girls as he walked.

"Heidi, did Nick ask you out?!" Bebe asked, loudly.

"Bebe, shut up!" Heidi responded. "Yeah, but we're just going out as friends."

"Oh, come on, girl!" Red stated. "It's obvious that boy likes you…"

"To be honest, I thought he was gay…" Nicole stated.

"Why?" Wendy asked. "He hasn't really shown any sign that he likes dude."

"I guess because with how much he was defending Butters." Nicole answered.  
"But Butters is straight too." Wendy stated.

"Oh, I find that hard to believe." Annie stated.  
"Annie, you do realize he started the whole girls vs. boys thing because Charlotte broke up with him, right?" Heidi asked.

"No, I didn't actually." Annie answered.  
"Well, now you know…" Heidi stated.

"In all seriousness, Heidi, you should consider dating him," Bebe stated, in a tone that for once didn't sound condescending. "I mean, you broke up with Cartman for good, there's nowhere else to go but up, and that boy is way up."

"Bebe, you don't have to remind her that she dated Cartman all the time," Wendy stated. "It's was a bitchy move of us to berate her like that, and we should all feel guilty."

Heidi looked at Wendy with surprise. "Thank you, Wendy…"

"Now, be honest with me, Heidi, do you suspect that Nick's has feelings for you?" Wendy asked.

Heidi thought back to the time she has spent with Nick and thought about all of his actions up till now. "It's definitely possible." Heidi answered.

"You should ask him and see." Red stated.  
"But, I don't he'd act on them…"

"Why is that?" Nicole asked.

Heidi pointed at Kyle, and most of the girls were able to deduce what this meant. "You still have a crush on Kyle." Wendy stated.

"Yeah, and Nick knows it." Heidi added.

"So what? That hasn't stopped other boys in the past." Bebe said, in her usual confident tone.

"You don't know Nick, Bebe…" Wendy stated. "I've only spoken to him a couple of times, but he is the type that values his friends…"  
"What are you saying, Wendy?"

"I'm saying that, even if he has feelings for Heidi, he won't pursue them because she has feelings for Kyle, and he values his friendships above all else…" Wendy explained. "He might also believe that Kyle has feelings for Heidi…"

"Okay, Wendy, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Heidi said, turning pink. "Kyle has a lot of things going on, I'm sure he doesn't have the time to think about what girls he likes."

"But you can't deny that Nick would do that." Wendy countered.

"Yeah, Nick is the type that wouldn't say anything if it meant hurting his friends…" Heidi agreed.

When Nick got back to his lunch table, the first thing someone said to him is. "Dude, are you and Heidi dating?" Clyde asked.

Nick looked at Kyle to gauge his reactions, he was looking off the side, he knew that he was jealous. "No, we're just hanging out as friends." Kyle looked back at Nick with a look of surprise.

"Dude, really?" Token asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"You guys can believe what you want, but Heidi and I are just friends." Nick said, with honestly.

Kenny came up to whisper in his ear. "I don't think Kyle believes that."

Nick looked at Kyle, and he looked rather distant. "What should I say?" Nick whispered to Kenny.

"I don't know, man…" Kenny whispered back.

"What are you two whispering about?" Stan asked.

"Nothing in particular." Nick answered.

Stan looked at Butters, who was sitting right next to both of them. "Don't look at me, I didn't hear what they were saying."

At this moment, Kyle got up from the table. Nick was about to get up and go after him, but Kenny placed his hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "Relax, he's just putting his tray away." Kenny whispered.

"I think he knows, Kenny." Nick whispered.

"Probably, he's very attentive." Kenny whispered back.

"I need to go talk to him, without others listening in." Nick stated.

"Alright, then go ahead." Kenny let go, and Nick decided to go after Kyle, making sure he has his tray to put it away.

"Kyle…" Nick called out.

"What is it, Nick?" Kyle asked, not looking at him.

"Do you know?" Nick asked.

"Know what?" Kyle asked.

"About the person I like?"

"I suspected you liked her," Kyle admitted. Nick looked down in silence. "I mean, you asked her out didn't you?"

"We're going out at friends, Kyle…" Nick stated.

"But it's obvious that you like her." Kyle said, still not looking at him.

"But I'm not saying a word to her." Nick stated, causing Kyle to turn around.

"Why?" Kyle asked, confused as to why he wouldn't tell her. "You two would be good together."

"Because she likes someone else, Kyle…" Nick answered. "Now, I'm not going to tell you who, but I honestly think that he likes her as well and that he would be a better match for her. So, why pursue something that isn't going to happen?"

Kyle looked at Nick, still perplexed. "So, let me get this straight. You like her, but she likes someone else, and so you're just going to attempt to be her friend?"

"Yeah, pretty much…" Nick said.

"What would you do if you were the one she loved?" Kyle asked.

"If I was in his shoes, I would tell that I love her and that even if we had to live worlds apart, there would not be a day where I wouldn't think her. But I'm not saying a word, I'm not saying care…"

"But you would like her to know, right?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not…" Nick almost said, 'you', but he caught himself, and said, "him."

Nick continued to look down on the ground. He really did value his friendship with Kyle and for that reason, he wasn't going to pursue Heidi, however, it was also because that she liked Kyle and that he honestly found the idea of those two together to be cute, and he didn't want to jeopardize his friend's happiness. But he wasn't going to suffer for his decision, he was perfectly content with just being friends with Heidi, and he honestly wouldn't have been surprised if she knew about his feelings for him.

Kyle just smiled at him. "Man, you're just full of surprises." Kyle stated. Ever since Heidi started changing for herself, he found that his feelings for have resurged. Not that he would ever tell anyone, with what's going on in his life currently, he doesn't want to drag someone into his problems for no reason. To him, it was bad enough that Nick was practically forcing himself into his problems. "Make sure that you treat her right, okay."

"Of course…" Nick said, smiling.

At that moment, the bell to end lunch rang. "We better get back to our friends." Kyle said, smiling.

Nick nodded, and he headed back to his table where everyone was waiting so they could go outside for recess.

Once school had ended, Nick waited outside for Heidi. It didn't take long for her to show up. "Hey, good to see you're on time." Nick stated.

"I mean, we're just going out to eat as friends, there's no need to doll up." Heidi jokingly stated.

"True," Nick responded. "So, where would you like to go?"

"Nothing too fancy, an Applebee's would be fine." Heidi answered.  
"Alright," Nick looked on his phone and saw that the nearest Applebee's is nearby. "Looks like there is one in the town square."

"I live here, Nick…" Heidi said, blankly. "I could tell you that."  
Nick looked at Heidi awkwardly. "Right…" Nick just chuckled at his lapse of judgment. "Well, let's just get going."

Nick and Heidi walked to Applebee's, and as they walked, people around the town gave them looks like they were a couple. Nick swore that he heard a woman say, "Ah, young love…"

"Do these people just ship whoever happens to be walking together at the moment?" Nick asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it, although they did start shipping Craig and Tweek because of all of the yaoi fanart," Heidi stated. "I think they were just going along with it for the town at the time."

"Well, they did stay together after the town stopped caring, which I guess shows that love can spark when you least expect it."

"Yeah, mine sparked when a troll photoshopped a dick in my Mom's mouth." Heidi joked.

"Yeah, with a sociopath no less." Nick said. "Oh, wait, he's too young to be diagnosed as one."

"But let's be honest, Eric is a complete sociopath, no doubt about that."

Nick and Heidi continued to talk until they finally reached Applebee's. They told them that it was just the two them, and they got seated almost immediatley.

"So, what are you gonna get?" Nick asked.

"Probably a salad," Heidi answered. "What about you?"

"Well, I'm not vegan, but if you're uncomfortable with me eating non-vegan food, I'll-"

"Nick, I'm not a wimp," Heidi said, quickly. "You can eat the Brunch Burger for all I care, I won't mind."

"Eh, I get that too often, so I'll just get the new stuffed rigatoni they added recently." Nick stated.

"Good, I don't want you to get something you dislike on my behalf." Heidi stated.

"Are you guys ready?" The waiter asked.

"Yeah," Nick answered. They then placed their orders and decided to chat while they wait. "So, how long have you had a crush on Kyle?"

"Oh, about a year." Heidi answered, seeing no point in dodging his question. "What about you, is there a girl you like?"

"I plead the 5th." Nick answered.

"You're not incriminating yourself though?"

"I want to keep some parts of me a mystery." Nick answered. "Anyway, I actually want to ask a few business questions."

"Business questions? You mean for your Dad's work?" Heidi asked. Nick nodded in response. "Why? Is he looking at another client?"

"Kinda, one of the files we have seems to be incomplete, and my Dad and I are working to find out why."

"And which kid is that?" Heidi asked. At this moment, the food came by, and they began to eat while they chat.

"Kenny McCormick." Nick answered.  
"Nick, I'm afraid I can't help you much on his case." Heidi answered as she stuck a fork in her salad. "But I'll answer what I can."

"I'm just going to cut to the chase then." Nick said. "Basically, parts of his file, in the beginning, are inconsistent in nature, days always stopped abruptly, and there is full one year gap at one point where he just wasn't there."

"Yeah, that must be right after he got sick." Heidi stated.

"I figured that, but my Dad told me that he called that hospital, and there is no record of any Kenny McCormick being admitted."

"That's strange…" Heidi stated. "He was sick, and he did stop coming to school for a whole year… To be honest, that one year is kinda hazy to me, but have you tried any other nearby hospitals?"

"Dad's looking into that, but so far, we've been getting the same answers." Nick answered. "It's almost like he just disappeared off the face of the earth... like he died and came back to life."

"Don't be ridiculous, Nick, people who die can't come back." Heidi stated, quickly.

"Yeah, you're right." They continued eating their food until finally, they were both full. The waiter asked if they were together or separate, and they both decided to split the bill, so they were effectively paying for their own food. "Thank you for coming." The waiter said.

Nick then left a tip, and he walked Heidi back to her house. "Thank you for dinner, Nick. It was awfully nice of you."

"You're welcome, sorry I asked you questions about a case, instead of lighter topics." Nick said, smiling.

"It's not a problem, I enjoy helping you in any way I can." Heidi said, smiling.

"Well, I'll see you Monday at school." Nick stated.

"Have a nice day." Heidi called out.

They both waved goodbye, and each went back to their respective homes.

"Hey Dad, I'm home…" Nick said, putting his jacket up.

"Ah, how was your first date?" Colin asked.

Nick blushed a bright red. "I-It wasn't a date, we were just hanging out."

"Ah, really, that isn't what Butters told me…" Colin teased.

"Butters!" Nich shouted.

"I plead the 5th." Butters shouted from upstairs.

"You heard him, he refuses to testify." Colin joked. "So who was the lucky girl?"

"It was Heidi Turner." Nick answered.  
"Heidi? You meant that girl that who looked through social media to help us find Butters?" Colin asked.

"Yup, that's the same girl." Nick answered.

"Huh, son, I hate to say it-"

"I know that she likes someone else, and that is why I am only taking it as far as friendship." Nick interrupted. "Besides why pursue something that isn't going to happen."

"That's actually mature of you, Nick…" Colin stated.

"Well, it just so happens that the boy she likes is a good friend of mine, and I think that they'd be a better couple than me and her."

"Well, do you know that this boy likes her back?" Colin asked.

"I have a feeling that he does." Nick answered.  
"Well, I can one-up, I know that he does." Colin stated.

"How?"

"Well, the fact that he hugged her when she found out where Butters was seemed to be a pretty good indication." Colin answered.

"Kyle hugged her?" Nick asked.

"Yup, they were both blushing red too…" Colin stated.

"Smooth, Kyle…" Nick said, sarcastically.

"Anyway, on to a different topic," Colin said, as he got up from the couch. "I'm going to be headed to the McCormicks tomorrow, it's up to you if you want to come."

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do, and I'm a pretty good judge of character." Nick boasted.

"Don't push your luck, kid." Colin said, trying to bring down Nick's ego.

Nick just gave a wide grin in response, and he headed upstairs to spend time with Butters.

Butters agreed to go with Nick tomorrow, and they spent the rest of the day just hanging out, playing video games, and so on and so forth. Little did they know, was that a certain older brother was coming to town.


End file.
